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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Long Term Chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa Airway Infection in Mice
Published on: March 17, 2014
Chronic Mycobacterium abscessus infection and lung function decline in cystic fibrosis
Charles R Esther1, Denise A Esserman, Peter Gilligan
1Statistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Charles_Esther@med.unc.edu
Background:
Although nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are recognized pathogens in cystic fibrosis (CF), associations with clinical outcomes remain unclear.
Methods:
Microbiological data was obtained from 1216 CF patients over 8years (481+/-55patients/year). Relationships to clinical outcomes were examined in the subset (n=271, 203+/-23 patients/year) with longitudinal data.
Results:
Five hundred thirty-six of 4862 (11%) acid-fast bacilli (AFB) cultures grew NTM, with Mycobacterium abscessus (n=298, 55.6%) and Mycobacterium avium complex (n=190, 35.4%) most common. Associated bacterial cultures grew Stenotrophomonas or Aspergillus species more often when NTM were isolated (18.2% vs. 8.4% and 13.9% vs. 7.2%, respectively, p<0.01). After controlling for confounders, patients with chronic M. abscessus infection had greater rates of lung function decline than those with no NTM infection (-2.52 vs. -1.64% predicted FEV(1)/year, p<0.05).
Conclusions:
NTM infection is common in CF and associated with particular pathogens. Chronic M. abscessus infection is associated with increased lung function decline.
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